Connecticut legalized medical marijuana for adults in 2012. The medical marijuana program in Connecticut currently has some 585 registered physicians and nearly 15,000 patients.
The exception to the medical marijuana age restriction in Connecticut is that children under the age of 18 are allowed access to non-smokable medical marijuana if they exhibit severe epilepsy or another terminal illness.
Another study evaluating the effectiveness of medical cannabis as a painkiller has also been given the green light at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. The state approved St. Francis study will focus on replacing medical cannabis for Oxycodone in patients suffering from traumatic injuries such as rib fractures.
According to a recent Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 1 in 3 long-term prescription painkiller users report being addicted or dependent, and abuse of opioid medications may actually open the door to heroin use.
Is there a better way to treat chronic pain and not expose others to the social issues of opioid addiction? That is exactly what a federally funded medical marijuana study aims to find out, and will be the first of its kind in New England.
